Cyanotypes work on the same premise as photography – capturing light, negatives and developing images. I coated fabric with a cyanotype mix of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide in equal parts. This was done in a darkened room – the cyanotype is sensitive to UV light, so won’t develop until exposed to sunlight or UV light. Given the beautiful sunshine during lockdown, I was able to leave my images outside. The lighters above belonged to my Dad and I have used them in several pieces of work to date – these simple objects are a constant reminder of him and I continue to embed his memory into my work in different forms. The lighters were placed on the treated fabric and left in the midday sun for 1/2 hour. Once exposed the fabric turns green/yellow. The fabric is then rinsed in water until it turns a deep cyan colour. As with the tintypes, the red lighter allowed the least UV rays to pass through it, leaving a solid negative image.
The image below is of a series of cyanotypes made using packaging materials and found objects. I am considering how to create a larger collage with them. I will either hand stitch them together in a rustic running stitch in linen thread, or I will pin them together with quilting pins, allowing layers to overlap.
In the images below I tried applying the principles of chemigrams to the treated fabric – applying various household chemicals on the fabric such as vinegar and vaseline as well as lemons to see how that affected the resulting images. Whilst this was clear during the developing process, once I rinsed the fabric, the effect was minimal. I also experimented using diluted bleach to develop the cyanotypes, however, this created washed out tonal images and I preferred the vibrancy of the original cyanotype.
Applying the Principles of Chemigrams
Rinsed in Water
